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Waverley Borough Council
Air Quality Action Plan
July 2008 Final version
Anne Sayer Environmental Health
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01483 523117 Council Offices
The Burys Godalming
Surrey GU7 1HR
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Contents
Foreword……………………………………………. 3 Executive Summary………………………………... 4 Introduction and goals of the Action Plan………... 5 1. The Air Quality Challenges Facing Waverley… 7 2. Waverley‟s Air Quality Management Areas…… 8 3. Description of proposed measures…………… 12 ANNEXES Extracts from Farnham Review of Movement Studies and Major Schemes by Scott Wilson for Surrey County Council Consultation response from Surrey County Council
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Foreword The air we breathe is essential for life – yet we often take it for granted. A person needs to breathe in about 25kgs of air a day to get all the oxygen they need to live – many times more than the weight of food or water needed. Consumers can make choices about whether to drink bottled water or eat organic food. But when the air around us becomes polluted it has the potential to affect everyone. Equally, the key to air pollution prevention is in everyone‟s hands. Waverley Borough Council is required to produce this Action Plan to demonstrate how air pollution in its three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) is being tackled. But rather than simply focus on tackling the issues identified in these three areas the document seeks to take a broader approach – raising the awareness of air quality throughout the Borough of Waverley.
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Executive summary Waverley Borough Council has produced this Air Quality Action Plan as part of its duty under the Environment Act 1995. The Action Plan is required following the declaration of three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in Farnham, Hindhead and Godalming. These were declared in 2005 due to levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) exceeding the Government‟s annual mean objective for this pollutant. This Action Plan outlines the work that Waverley Borough Council and a range of partners are undertaking to reduce the air quality problems identified in the AQMAs and to meet the Government objective for NO2. The major cause of the elevated NO2 levels is road traffic emissions and the actions in this plan concentrate on tackling emissions from this source. This document has been updated following consultation on a draft Action Plan produced in January 2008. The Action Plan was developed with the support of departments within Waverley Borough Council and a range of partners, particularly from the Highways Authority Surrey County Council.
In line with guidance from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), this Plan includes measures that are both within and beyond the control of the Borough Council. DEFRA acknowledges that many of the actions needed to address air quality issues are beyond the remit of the local authority that has responsibility for local air quality management. This is particularly the case where Air Quality Management Areas are declared as a result of traffic-related emissions in areas, such as Waverley, that have a two-tier local authority structure. Many of the measures within the Action Plan will fall within the remit of and require further funding and development from the local transport authority, Surrey County Council.
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Introduction and goals of the Action Plan Waverley’s duties on air quality Waverley Borough Council has a responsibility under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to monitor and identify sources of air pollution within its area. In particular it should consider locations where receptors are present, largely where people are living and where air quality standards are not being met. Where these standards are not being met the local authority must designate an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and produce an Air Quality Action Plan to tackle the pollution identified in these areas. In 2005 Waverley declared AQMAs the following locations
The Borough, Farnham
Ockford Road/Flambard Way in Godalming
A3 crossroads in Hindhead In all three cases the AQMAs were declared as a result of monitoring carried out in 2003 showing that levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in these locations would exceed the annual mean standard permitted for this pollutant (40 micrograms per cubic metre by 2005). The hourly standard for NO2 permits NO2 levels to exceed an hourly average of 200 micrograms per cubic metre no more than 18 times per year. The hourly average is measured by automatic monitoring units in Farnham and Hindhead. So far these have shown no breaches of the hourly average standard. However, the recent Further Assessment (2006) found that annual average NO2 levels were still being breached in the AQMAs and therefore recommended that Godalming and Hindhead AQMAs should remain. It recommended that the Farnham AQMA be extended to cover areas outside the existing AQMA as exceedences were occurring there. It also confirmed that traffic emissions were the largest source of NO2 emissions in the AQMAs.
In line with guidance from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), this Plan includes measures that are both within and beyond the control of the Borough Council. DEFRA acknowledges that many of the actions needed to address air quality issues are beyond the remit of the local authority that has responsibility for local air quality management. This is particularly the case where Air Quality Management Areas are declared as a result of traffic-related emissions in areas, such as Waverley, that have a two-tier local authority structure. Many of the measures to address air quality will fall within the remit of and require further funding and development from the local transport authority, Surrey County Council.
Public consultation on the action plan Waverley‟s Environment and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the draft action plan on 15 January. On 16 January the draft action plan was released for public consultation. This consultation was mainly web-based with interested parties able to view the Action Plan on the Waverley
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website. In addition to the entire document, individual chapters outlining measures for the three individual AQMAs could be downloaded. Consultees were encouraged to respond by telephone, email, and letter or by completing an on-line web form on the draft action plan. The air quality officer informed consultees by email of the relevant Action Plan consultation web pages. In addition to the statutory consultees listed below members of local interest and business groups together with people who had previously expressed an interest in air quality issues received details of the draft action plan. Copies of the action plan were sent out to members of the public and other consultees on request. In addition a hard copy of the draft action plan was made available at Waverley‟s Farnham Locality Office, which is within the Air Quality Management Area and could be obtained by visiting the main Waverley office at The Burys. Waverley‟s communications department issued a press release on the action plan, which resulted in coverage in the Farnham Herald and the Surrey Advertiser on 25 January 2008. The article also featured in the Talking Newspaper. There were nine public responses plus one statutory consultee response to the consultation (Surrey County Council included as annex 2). A number of other statutory consultees acknowledged receipt of the document but made no formal comments. The draft air quality action plan was discussed at Surrey County Council‟s Waverley Local Committee and at the Waverley Local Strategic Partnership.
List of statutory consultees:
Highways Agency
Government Office for the South East
Surrey and Sussex PCT
Surrey County Council
Natural England
Environment Agency
Secretary of State for Environment via DEFRA
Town and Parish Councils
Neighbouring borough, district and county local authorities
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1. The air quality challenges facing Waverley Waverley is situated in southwest Surrey on the border with Hampshire to the west and West Sussex to the south. Waverley is predominantly a rural region with four main centres of population: Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere and Cranleigh. It has several busy road links that pass through the Borough, including the A3 Portsmouth to London route, which is managed by the Highways Agency. Waverley Borough Council works within a two-tier local authority context. Surrey County Council is the local transport authority Road traffic is the major source of air pollution in Waverley Borough, and emissions from this source are the reason behind the declaration of each of the three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). However the air quality issues vary with the location of each AQMA. Some of the measures included in this plan are the responsibility of the County Council and are currently being considered or implemented within the context of the 2006 – 2011 Local Transport Plan. The declaration of Waverley‟s AQMAs occurred too late to be included as a material consideration within the five-year document. Waverley has liaised with the Surrey Local Transport Plan team on how air quality will be considered in any update to the plan. Surrey County Council has a recently established Network Management and Information Centre (NMIC). The NMIC houses and manages the technology that controls the entire Surrey Highways network together with real-time bus information to ensure that best use is made of the highway network and that congestion hotspots can be reduced or tackled as appropriate. The Centre has started looking at ways of integrating air pollution data into its traffic modelling systems, which can forecast traffic volumes and test changes in the transport network. The remit of the NMIC is particularly important in addressing the air quality issues in Godalming and Farnham. Domestic bonfires are a source of air pollution within the Borough. Depending on what is being burnt bonfires can be a source of various air pollutants including particulates, volatile organic compounds and sulphur dioxide. The prevalence of bonfires has not prompted the declaration of AQMAs, but they are a key source of concern to local residents, prompting a large number of complaints every year to Waverley‟s Environmental Health department. Waverley‟s most recent Further Assessment carried out in 2006 included a source apportionement study for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). Based on modelling of 2005 data at relevant receptors in the three AQMAs the Assessment calculated that the following reductions would need to be made in NO2 contributions from road traffic, in order to meet the Government‟s objectives for this pollutant:
AQMA Location Farnham Hindhead Godalming
% reduction required in traffic emissions
23%
24%
9%
2. Waverley’s Air Quality Management Areas Farnham Farnham is a historical centre in the south west of the Borough close to the border of Surrey and Hampshire. The town is served by a bypass, the A31, which runs east-west to the south of the town centre. In 2005 an Air Quality Management Area was declared along two sections of The Borough, a short street canyon in the town centre, as a result of levels of the pollutant NO2 exceeding the annual average objective – a maximum of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. The 2005 Further Assessment showed that these exceedences were also occurring outside the AQMA resulting in a requirement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to extend the AQMA. The AQMA was extended to incorporate a wider area than simply where exceedences were occurring to enable a holistic approach to tackle air quality issues to be taken (see Figure A below). Figure A: Map showing the extended Farnham Air Quality Management Area
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House East
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(PH)
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76.2m
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tion
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Playground
65.2m
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The Maltings
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El Sub Sta
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9
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Clarendon House
63
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6061
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9
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Clayton CourtUPPER C
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The Retreat
Bishop's
Copyright: This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty‟s Stationery Officer © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Waverley Borough Council LA 100025451. This copy has been produced specifically for Map Return Scheme purposes No further copied may be made
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The land shown in black is the extended Farnham Air Quality Management Area. The designated area incorporates all parts of The Borough; parts of East Street and South Street; The Woolmead; Union Street; Downing Street; and part of West Street. The AQMA is adjacent to a proposed redevelopment site at East Street in the east of the town centre, a proposal that was recently scaled down to a more appropriate scheme which includes plans for around 200 new homes, a cinema and additional parking provision. The town centre is an attractive, historical location, but suffers from through traffic and an extensive one-way system. Narrow pavements and overhanging and often tall buildings reduce the space available to pedestrians. Mobility is made difficult by unauthorised parking at several points. While loading restrictions are in place during the morning and evening peak, loading and unloading outside this time together with other parking on double yellow lines can cause hotspots of congestion. Unlike the other two AQMAs in Waverley the 2006 Further Assessment identified private vehicles rather than lorry traffic as the main source of NO2 emissions. However there is a perception within the town centre that congestion and air pollution is due to delivery vehicles stopping within and passing through the centre of the town. Godalming The AQMA in Godalming is located along a half-mile stretch of the A3100 including part of Ockford Road and Flambard Way. The latter is an A-road bypass around the town centre along its northern edge that has a number of properties along both edges. There are a series of urban traffic control (UTC) managed junctions along this road bringing traffic from the south into the town centre. At morning peaks there are tailbacks on both the feeder roads from the south, including Brighton Road and Holloway Hill and on the A3100 itself. The AQMA also abuts an area designated as a Key Site for development including demolition and reconstruction of the existing police station and construction of more than 200 properties together with commercial premises. The development may require the removal of a large volume of contaminated land with associated lorry movements. The 2006 Further Assessment identified HGV traffic as the main source of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution in this AQMA.
Figure B: Map showing the Godalming AQMA
Hindhead The Hindhead AQMA covers a stretch of the strategic road network – the A3, which links Portsmouth and London. It is situated at a crossroad with the A287 linking Farnham to the north west and Haslemere to the south. Vehicle flow is managed by a set of traffic lights on each junction, which are infamously the only set of permanent traffic lights between Portsmouth and the north of England. Significant queues build up along all four directions on the approach to the crossroads. To the north of Hindhead is the Devil‟s Punchbowl – a Site of Special Scientific Interest. According to the Highways Agency there are no realistic alternative routes for traffic to avoid this bottleneck, with the congestion problem only solvable through the construction of a bypass. Following a lengthy public inquiry the go-ahead was given in 2006 to a tunnel and bypass scheme that would alleviate the congestion at Hindhead. Work on this major scheme began in early 2007.
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Waverley continues to monitor levels of Nitrogen Dioxide at its automatic monitoring site in the car park adjacent to the A287 south of the crossroads. Waverley is also supporting the University of Surrey by providing relevant automatic and diffusion tube data for an engineering postgraduate student dissertation on the air quality effects of the tunnel once it begins operation. Data is also provided to consultants examining the impact of the scheme on behalf of the Highways Agency. Figure C: Map showing the Hindhead AQMA
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3 Final list of proposed Action Plan measures This chapter contains the largest number of changes from the draft action plan and is organised under the following headings
Key measures with the action plan
Other action plan measures
Ongoing action plan measures Section 3.1 outlines the key measures in the air quality action plan, which are likely to have the greatest influence on Waverley delivering its air quality objectives. The relevant measures are outlined for each of the three air quality management areas in Farnham, Godalming and Hindhead. Section 3.2 outlines in brief details of Waverley‟s corporate travel plan. While this will have a less significant immediate impact on air quality within the AQMAs, it is a key measure that is essential to demonstrate how the council is leading by example on addressing air quality issues. Development of a robust travel plan will also enable the council to develop an understanding of travel plans that will help inform other areas of policy including planning and car parking that have a bearing on air quality. Other smaller scale proposals that are the process of development or that are dependent on accessing funding are outlined in 3.3. These proposals are likely to have a minimal impact on improving air quality within the AQMAs and indicative timescales have been allocated for these measures. Each of the measures identified in Section 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 of this Action Plan indicate the likely impact on air quality; lead delivery agency; timescales and outline costs. In 2003 the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published policy Guidance LAQM PG(03) on the delivery of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. This indicates that local authorities are not expected to undertake detailed analyses of each policy option for improving air quality within an AQMA. In line with the guidance each measure is costed within the following range:
High – costs in excess of £250,000
Medium – costs between £25,000 and £250,000
Low / Medium – potentially higher than the Low/ Medium threshold but not significantly so
Low – costs lower than £25,000 Section 3.4 summarises the measures included in the draft but which are already underway – and/or that will continue in the future. As these schemes are already underway and have minimal impact on air quality no additional
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costs in terms of delivering air quality objectives and no cost details have been included. The proposals in this Action Plan will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis with additional measures and detail incorporated as appropriate.
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3.1 Key Measures In The Action Plan
Farnham air quality management area
Farnham town centre package – outlined in the Farnham Review Study
Impact on air quality likely to be significant improvement
Lead delivery agent Surrey County Council
Other non-air quality impacts improved road safety, reduced congestion
During consultation on the draft Action Plan Surrey County Council published a report carried out by consultancy Scott Wilson entitled Farnham Review of Movement Studies and Major Schemes. The aim of the review was to identify measures that would form the basis of a town centre transport strategy for Farnham. These measures were identified from a review of previous studies undertaken that covered measures from small scale pedestrian improvements to proposals for a bypass to the west of Farnham Town Centre The report took into account national, regional and local policies including the Surrey Local Transport Plan objectives to
Tackle congestion
Increase accessibility to key services
Improve road safety and security
Enhance environment and quality of life
Improve management and maintenance of the road network Using these policy criteria the report outlined three town centre strategies (1, 2a and 2b) with each strategy building on the measures included in the previous package. All of the measures included were featured in the draft Action Plan – in particular:
Improvements in access and parking for cyclists
Changes in delivery patterns through the introduction of rear servicing arrangements for shops and dedicated on-street parking bays for delivery vehicles
Variable message signs indicating car park availability
Town centre junction improvements
A park and stride scheme that would encourage use of an edge of town car park particularly for people parking all day at Farnham
The most sweeping package “strategy 2b” included all of these elements plus re-allocation of roadspace, including the reduction of The Borough to a single lane and a part-time pedestrianisation of this road. The executive summary, background and relevant plans and scheme details from the 100-page „Farnham Review Study‟ are separate to this Action Plan. The full report is
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available at www.surreycc.gov.uk by following the links to “roads and transport” / “traffic and parking” / “transport studies” to the “Farnham Report”. An initial evaluation by Surrey County Council and by Waverley Borough Council suggests that strategy 2b with its focus on partial pedestrianisation has potential to reduce the exceedences of nitrogen dioxide in the Farnham AQMA. During the Action Plan consultation some respondents expressed approval for a pedestrianisation scheme for Farnham, while others voiced concern that it would simply add to congestion and air quality problems or shift these to locations elsewhere in the town. The Borough, which is the main focus of roadspace reallocation and part-time pedestrianisation proposals has shown the greatest level of exceedences for the Government objective for nitrogen dioxide. This is due to pollution from vehicle exhausts being trapped in the “street canyon” formed by buildings either side of the street. A strategy to reduce through traffic and congestion is therefore likely to reduce theses exceedences and help Waverley meet its obligations on air quality. In order to complete its work on strategies 2a and 2b the Scott Wilson report took into account proposed traffic improvements drafted by Crest Nicholson Sainsbury's as part of the proposed redevelopment of land in East Street. However, the Action Plan does not assume that the success of the Farnham package in tackling air quality in the AQMA is dependent on the delivery of the East Street development. Waverley supports the scope of strategy 2b in principle as offering the greatest potential for improving air quality in the Farnham AQMA. However in response to local concerns it will seek to commission a further study into the strategy. This will seek to evaluate in full the implications of the transport strategy for air quality in Farnham and to address concerns that it will result in pollution problems being exacerbated elsewhere. Waverley has made a funding bid under the Government‟s annual air quality grant scheme to help support this work.
Timescale: Surrey County Council suggests that traffic survey work in Farnham will begin in late 2008 to update traffic data and enable further modelling of the schemes outlined in the Farnham Review to be undertaken in 2009. The outcome of this work and available funding will indicate the timescale for work to deliver the strategy. Waverley will be informed on the success of its funding application to the air quality grant in late summer 2008. Cost: Individual measures may incur low to medium costs, while the final
package as a whole may have a high cost
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Hindhead air quality management area
Hindhead Tunnel and bypass
Impact on air quality Elimination of nitrogen dioxide exceedences
Lead delivery agent Highways Agency
Other non-air quality impacts
Improved road safety, reduced congestion, improved amenity at SSSI
The A3 Hindhead project will complete the dual carriageway link between London and Portsmouth and remove a major source of congestion, particularly around the A3/A287 traffic signal controlled crossroads. The new road will be 6.5km (4 miles) long and include 1.8km (1.1 miles) of twin bored tunnels under the Devil‟s Punch Bowl Site of Special Scientific Interest. The scheme has a target opening date of 2011. The new scheme will result in the closure of the existing A3 immediately north of the A287 crossroad with this junction to be controlled by a three way roundabout. More information is at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3832.aspx In impact assessments undertaken for this major project the Highways Agency concluded that the new bypass would completely remove the air quality problems associated with the Hindhead AQMA.
Timescale: scheme to be delivered by 2011
Cost: £370 million
View of the south portal works for the A3 bypass and tunnel project March 2008 source HA website
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Godalming air quality management area
Review of the urban traffic control system
Impact on air quality Still to be quantified – will be assessed through Surrey County Council model
Lead delivery agent Surrey County Council
Other non-air quality impacts Reduced congestion
Traffic movement on many of the routes in Waverley, notably in centres of habitation is controlled through Surrey County Council‟s Network Management and Information Centre (NMIC) in Leatherhead as outlined in Section 1. NMIC uses leading technology to achieve the most efficient management of all traffic control systems such as traffic lights and CCTV monitoring of the highway together with real-time data to provide improved information to the travelling public. Part of the centre‟s role is to review and update the existing urban traffic control (UTC) systems that are in place on certain routes. The Godalming AQMA is in an area controlled by UTC and Surrey County Council has indicated that it is due for review. Surrey also suggests that a review of the current system to take into account changes in traffic flows, and update the software controlling the junction signals has potential to help reduce congestion and help deliver air quality targets.
Measures influencing all air quality management areas
Timescale: In its consultation response Surrey County Council says it is currently reviewing its programme of transport improvements for the period 2008/11. It adds, “We hope that the review of UTC for Godalming can be completed in the 2008/11 timescale but this cannot be guaranteed and it is most unlikely that any actual changes to the system could be introduced before 2011.”
Cost: Low / Medium
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3.2 Policies relevant to all air quality management areas
Waverley Corporate Travel Plan
Impact on air quality Direct impact will be minor – although probably greatest at Godalming close to council offices
Lead delivery agent Waverley Borough Council
Other non-air quality impacts Delivery of corporate priorities for environment and value for money
In line with air quality technical guidance produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Waverley is developing its own corporate travel plan to help reduce reliance on single occupancy car journeys to and for work. Although this is likely to have a minor impact on meeting air quality objectives, done well it will demonstrate the Council‟s commitment to reducing the impact of its own travel on local air quality. Indirectly it will enable the council to develop an understanding of transport management issues that will inform other policies and in the longer term support sustainable travel policies that will have a direct impact on improving air quality. The travel plan has the potential to achieve cost savings and help tackle climate change, helping the council deliver two of its five priorities outlined in the 2008 corporate plan. Specific travel plan proposals are being developed by the Council‟s climate change group, which brings together officers from across the council‟s payscale. Some of these are being tested during the Council‟s Green Travel Week, which ran during May 2008.
Timescale: Climate Change Group to present outline cost benefit analysis of travel plan proposals to Waverley corporate management team in summer 2008. Funding being sought for the 2009/10 budget for longer-term sustainable travel measures that will achieve value for money for the council. Air Quality Action Plan progress report will outline further details of travel plan actions goals and monitoring procedures.
Cost: Low
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3.3 Other Action Plan Measures
Air quality behaviour change campaign At the request of the Waverley Local Committee the borough‟s Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) considered the draft Air Quality Action Plan at its April meeting. LSP members expressed support for the plan and requested continued involvement in its delivery. The combination of bodies involved in the LSP makes it an ideal forum to push forward a multi-agency approach to improving air quality by sharing information and best practice particularly on behaviour change policies that are likely to have an impact on improving air quality. These might include the development of corporate travel plans. With support from the LSP this campaign has the potential to become a key element of the Air Quality Action Plan in future Timescale: Update LSP on action plan progress in mid 2008. Assess level of support of LSP for a future behaviour change campaign. Lead delivery agent: Waverley Borough Council with support from the Local Strategic Partnership Impact on air quality: Minor to low, depending on level of campaign Non air quality impacts: Links to climate change policy, policies to improve public health through reduced pollution and encouraging alternative to private car use. Cost: Low
School travel plans Surrey County Council is continuing its programme of developing school travel plans through 2008/11. In order to support this work it may be appropriate for Waverley to re-examine its policy of providing short-term parking permits for parents to park for a limited period free of charge while picking up and dropping off their children at certain local schools. Where resources and funding allows Waverley will seek to support Surrey‟s work on school travel plans by developing educational resources on local air quality. Timescale: 2008 –11 Lead delivery agent: Surrey County Council – potential partnership opportunities and supporting policies to be explored by Waverley Borough Council Impact on air quality: Minor Non air quality impacts: Supports Surrey Safe Routes to School work which covers improved road safety and road casualty reduction targets Cost: Low
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Stop and Search exercises Waverley has been involved in a number of vehicle stop and search exercises involving a number of Waverley departments, the police, the Environment Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) which have potential to target vehicles with illegal levels of exhaust emissions. Lead delivery agent: multi-agency including Environment Agency, VOSA and Waverley Borough Council Impact on air quality: minor Non air quality impacts: Supports Waverley Environmental Services, targets illegal waste carriers Timescale: the scope of the Stop and Search to include illegal exhaust emission checks will be considered when the next Stop and Search is scheduled. Cost: Low
Developing a Surrey Air Alert scheme. Waverley is an active member of the Surrey Air Quality Officers Group, which shares best practice and information on air quality and develops appropriate joint activities. It includes both borough-level officers and those at county level and others from appropriate external agencies. The Surrey Air Quality Officers Group has developed a proposal for an Air-Alert scheme similar to one operating in Sussex. Air Alert provides telephone updates to pre-registered members of the scheme alerting them of potential pollution episodes that may occur because of episodes of increased ground-level ozone. These people are then able to take appropriate action such as increasing their medication or avoiding excessive physical activity while pollution levels are high. Lead delivery agent: Surrey Air Quality Officers Groups of local authority air quality officers, led by Reigate and Banstead Impact on air quality: minor Non air quality impacts: Reduced admissions to hospital Timescale: A proposal was presented to Environmental Health chiefs in 2007 but no budget was approved to take this forward in 2008. A new proposal may be developed in 2009. Cost: Low
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Turn off engine signage Neighbouring local authorities such as West Sussex use signage at points on the traffic network where traffic may have be static for more than a couple of minutes – such as at railway crossings. Members of the public expressed support for the use of such signage during the consultation on the air quality action plan – in Hindhead as well as in Farnham at the railway crossing – which is on the edge of the Farnham AQMA. Surrey County Council has expressed support for the concept within its local transport plan. Timescale: 2011, subject to a case being drawn up (SCC response) Impact on air quality: Minor Non air quality impacts: Raise awareness of links between exhaust emissions and air quality Lead delivery agent: Surrey County Council Cost: Low
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3.4 Continuing Measures which may influence air quality
Encouraging bus use. Free bus travel for over 60s received a boost in Waverley when the council agreed a scheme that would extend the operation of the scheme from 9am rather than 9.30am.
Minor Reduced congestion
Decriminalised Parking Enforcement: In April 2007 Waverley took over decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE), targeting the town centres of Waverley‟s biggest centres of population, namely Cranleigh, Farnham, Godalming and Haslemere. Of the three AQMAs this policy has the potential to have the greatest effect in Farnham, because of its town centre location. By reducing the number of vehicles parking illegally on the roadside the parking enforcement policy will help reduce the congestion caused as traffic builds up behind such vehicles.
Minor Reduced congestion
Public transport provision: Surrey County Council continues to support bus services in the area, including a quality bus partnership in Farnham for the routes 4 and 5. The County Council‟s Surrey Student Transport Partnership (SSTP) is supporting public transport information and reduced cost travel for college users. Waverley Hoppa, supported by Waverley Borough Council, is continuing to offer demand responsive transport services across the borough.
Minor Greater mobility for non-car users
Cycling promotion: The Farnham Town Centre Package supports cycle routes and cycle parking in Farnham (see Section 3.1). They are also supported through planning agreements in new developments.
Minor Improved health through exercise
Air quality information. Following a website redesign air quality data and information is becoming increasingly available via Waverley‟s website. Waverley will continue to develop the content and format of the air quality web pages in order to inform people of the air quality issues within Waverley and make them aware of the steps they can take to help tackle these.
Minor
Planning policies: Waverley environmental health will continue to be consulted on new developments that may have an impact on the air quality management areas.
Minor to medium
